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Topic Review (Newest First)

02-17-2011, 04:28 PM

Bmw540san

Re: Good luck

Several reasons:
Superior quality,
They're the only one to be used with stock springs which is cheaper and I decided against lowering,
Even though there are people for and against it, I think they're going to be perfect for what I'm looking for.

That's definitely in the near future. Front ones are leaking on my 540 and I really need to them immediately after the 528. Also, rear ones aren't leaking so i'm expecting the mismatch, but probably not to bad. Another thing, it's easier on budget when I spread the cost.

"Drive It Like You Stole It, A Sickness for Quickness"The Bottle Rocket "King of Spray" 2 Stage Nitrous OxideDare to be different and stand out among the crowd of me-to-cars!No guts, no glory!Tire smoke, not traction control!Zionsville all aluminum radiator to replace the 3 leak prone Nissens Radiators!

Hi all! First, I want to again say thank you to everyone that helped with replies yesterday.

I drive 45 mins out to see the car, and within 10 secs I couldn't believe what I saw. Short end of the story, he thought a 5-spd steptronic w/ overdrive is the same thing as a 6-spd manual. I felt like clobbering him upside the head, as he speaks English (or so I think). I still look at the car out of curiosity, and this is what I found:

1) valley pan is leaking at the backside where JimLev before told me to look
2) both valve covers are leaking, not bad, but weeping ever so little and no one has ever cleaned them off
3) p/s steering reservoir and hoses are leaking.
4) radiator looked good, in fact, looked like it had been recently changed, as well as the water pump (he had a bill for the water pump, couldn't find the rad one).
5) had 171,000 kms on the clock. I asked him what year, he immediately said it was a 2001 (though he said he never received a manual and/or any paperwork with the car). It then struck me that there was no Vanos on the car, and I went "WTF"?! I then told him that best to my knowledge, after 1997-to-mid-1998, vanos started appearing on all 540s, euro-versions and american-versions alike (this car is an euro version). He was skeptical, so I looked on the underneath hood badge,at the back of the hood, and pointed to him where where it said 1997! He genuinely looked surprised. I then brought up RealOem on the Iphone, punched in the car's last seven vin, and showed what year his car was. I think the guy honestly thought he bought a 2001 (he's only owned it for 6 months). I then told him that the 6k euros (about $9,500 US bucks) he wask asking was so far out of the ballpark for what the car is worth, that it wasn't even funny. Told him at max I'd give, that is if I was even interested, $4000 US dollars, especially given the condition of the car and what I saw from the engine bay.
6) the only good thing about the car was the interior was a deep gray leather, fairly clean, the battery and rear wheel well was good ( strangely, though, the interior of the gas lid area was seriously rusted, not sure what this meant). Also, it has really nice rims and 18in wheels. Lastly, the previous owner spent about $3k 2 years ago and had the front and rear suspensions completely redone, along with brakes and new rotors.

Still, I do not want another steptronic, especially at 170000+ kms. I want a 6-spd, so i can rebuild the clutch and drive in peace, plus have the joy of having a manual at my fingertips.

So, after wasting nearly 2 hours in driving time to go see this car, once again I feel like there just isn't one 540 in Belgium and/or the Netherlands that are worth a nickel. Yet, in America, it seems to
rain 540s everywhere.

I remember your posts on the clutch, and have most if not all saved on my desktop. I haven't seen the 540i yet, but judging by the last 540i I just recently saw, I am not trying to get my hopes up. But, that said, even if it only has been lightly taken care of and it is in not too bad of shape, I am going to make him an offer. I don't know the mileage on the car because the guy didn't know it either when I called him this morning after hearing about the car from someone else. I reached him in his office and he said he honestly didn't know the mileage, not even when I asked him an "approximate" number. Now that I think about it, maybe that is a bad sign ;-(, as in he abused the peeee out of the car.... ;-(

Oh well, I will know tomorrow afternoon if he shows up to the lift meeting place that I made the appt at.

Thanks for the tips!

Eurodavid

02-16-2011, 01:52 PM

Eurodavid

Thanks, Vin!!!

02-16-2011, 01:44 PM

540sport

To check the clutch on a 6 speed

Ask if the clutch delay valve was removed and when. If it has 80 - 100k and it's never had a clutch, it needs one soon. I like Pipers clutch test method, but would do it in the higher gears. When the clutch slips it's usually top gear first, when the engine is trying to push max torque against the higher resistance of the high gear.

To check the transmission for wear in the synchros: If the car is cold try shifting through the gears with the engine off and your foot on the clutch. You want the lever to slide into each gate fairly easily. Expect more resistance in the lower gears. Then start the car, and do the same thing if it gets harder to shift into the lower gears the synchros are worn. First to second and second to third shifts should be scrutinized, those synchros see the most abuse.

After doing all this offer him 8k and drive it home.
Vin
98 540 Sport with everything & extra hots
BMW CCA, Boston Chapter
"The 540 is the head-case supermodel girlfriend..." Eric S.
"The worst thing you could do with your money is save it." ~ Jackie Gleason
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough. Mario Andretti
The United States is a nation of laws: poorly written and randomly enforced. - Frank Zappa

02-16-2011, 01:39 PM

jimlev

You better buy it. (m)

Check the rear carpets for door leakage. Look in the spare tire well for signs of water, the battery campartment for signs of leakage. Inside the fuel door for rust.
Make sure the syncro's don't grind.
You didn't mention mileage, I did my clutch at ~105K and the flywheel was fine. The other parts will run about ~$700 from the dealer, a bit less from some discount houses.
I did a post when I changed mine, you do need a few not to common tools, not a big deal, you can make them.

02-16-2011, 01:32 PM

kbud

i'm not the best to ask on this one probably but

i'd imagine you can build in $1500 in maintenance and service you want to perform and you'll be in the ballpark within $500 either side of the $1500

Would ya say about $1k or $1.5k or $2k for me to do a full clutch job (I guess I should assume the worst and that the flywheel won't be able to be resurfaced & will need replaced)???

This dude is asking too much in my opinion (nearly $10k), and it is nowhere near your car (or anyone's on RF here). Thus, I want to have everything straight in my head before I put a number on my lips. Subtract $1k or $2k in my head for me to do the clutch??

Thanks!!

Eurodavid

02-16-2011, 01:01 PM

kbud

If i were u i would just go into the negotiations

with the mentality that your replacing the clutch anyway along with changing all fluids so you know where you stand with maintenance and maintenance sked. Its what I do everytime I buy a car.

No diff. I would look very closely at the viscous fan. look for play or stiffness. If that fan locks up, it goes supersonic and spits blade everywhere.

Other than that the car is basically the same

02-16-2011, 11:57 AM

Eurodavid

Thanks, Piper! Will do the 20mph/3rd gear test

02-16-2011, 11:55 AM

piperguy

Re: bmw540san, is there any difference between

Can't vouch for the 6 spd (wish my wagon had one, but oh well), but on other performance cars, specifically when I bought my Vette and Mustang, if all else was good, I would take car out and at about 20 mph in third gear accelerate hard. This is enough speed that you're not going to hurt the engine lugging it but it also is going to produce pretty much max torque. if the clutch doesn't slip at that point and feels good otherwise, I would think you're in good shape clutchwise.

Otherwise, you've pretty much already listed where to look for problems. Only thing I would add is that if the radiator and water pump were changed, ask if they did the hoses too. Mine weren't changed and they are now failing one by one (never stranded on road just leaks .......)

Vaugahn

02-16-2011, 11:46 AM

Eurodavid

bmw540san, is there any difference between

installing struts and springs on our 6 cyls vs an 8 cyl? Is it all basically the same in terms of removal procedure and so forth? I've popped my 6 cyl struts off about 3 times now, and almost feel like I can do it in my sleep. I'm to the point I don't even need to look at torque specs for anything anymore because I have them memorized. I'm not too sure that is a proud thing to be saying, as maybe it points to how much [Oops!] special care our e39s need.

Eurodavid

P.S. Driving tomorrow to go see a 2002 (I think, it may be 2001, he didn't say) 540i 6-spd. The guy is asking a lot. I am going to put the car up on a lift and go over it with a fine tooth comb. If there's anything you (or anyone else with a 540i) can tell me to look for on the manual 6-spd (other than issues like the valley pan, cooling system, alternator, leaking valve cover gaskets, cracked struts, and bad wheel bearings), I'd seriously would appreciate it. It's been so long since I drove a true v8 manual that I can't remember what to look for when you are trying to figure out if the clutch is going or not ;-(

02-16-2011, 11:33 AM

cn90

Any problem with install, let me know

Any problem with install, let me know.
My email is cnn90 at netzero dot net.
I can give you my cell phone number just in case you run into issues.

Again, read the DIY that I wrote carefully and you should be fine.

Cam

02-16-2011, 10:40 AM

kbud

Good luck

why did u choose Bilsteins and not coilover kit or koni's etc. just wondering